Taste test: Domino's Specialty Chicken

When we heard Domino's was unleashing fried-chicken pizza on an unsuspecting world, it got imaginations in The Arizona Republic's features department racing.

However, we opened our grease-soaked cardboard boxes containing Domino's new Specialty Chicken offerings to find something much more pedestrian: clusters of breaded and fried chicken nuggets bound together in a log by a blanket of melted cheese and topped with stuff.

And in truth, they're pretty good. They weren't a hit with everyone on our staff, but considering this taste test comes on the heels of a Taco Bell breakfast taste test in which they were forced to eat the abominable waffle taco, this was practically 5-star resort dining in comparison. And it's ideal for satisfying a case of late-night munchies.

Skeptical? Domino's understands. The chain is giving away free orders of Specialty Chicken to the first 50 customers at participating Valley stores on Wednesday, April 23.

It's chicken and it's fried, but it's not what I think of as "fried chicken." Call it chicken-strip pizza. Frankly, I'm surprised they didn't go the Subway route and call it something stupid like "Chipizza." Resembling pizza in no way whatsover, Chipizza makes for messy eating — no crust to grab onto. The chicken itself is pretty run of the mill, so the toppings actually do improve the eating experience. Chicken, bacon and barbecue are certainly a familiar combination, but trust that when they say sweet, they mean it. Least favorite was the jalapeno-pineapple, because they let the pizza concept get in the way.

Jazzy Quick, online producer

Sampled: Bacon and tomato.

While I already hold a special place in my heart for Domino's, I totally love these. My friends and I order their chicken bites, and now we can order them in various flavors. I don't even care if these are supposed to be chicken wings covered in sauce — they're the lazy person's chicken nuggets with sauce already on them. They're bite-sized, and I plan on biting into some of my own very soon.

What this has to do with pizza is a mystery — then again, chicken nuggets are a mystery in their own right. But it's a decent concept, similar to nachos: The proof is in the toppings. I liked all the offerings, even the pineapple (probably because the jalapeno overrode the fruit taste). My favorite was the plain tomato. Call me simple(ton).

Wendy Kileen, calendar desk

Sampled: sweet BBQ bacon.

This is the kind of food a college student pulling an all-nighter would order when that late-night hankering comes calling. At first glance, I'm thinking a fork is definitely a necessity, a bit different than the no-fork-required pies Domino's typically delivers. The barbecue sauce isn't anything special. It's sweet and tangy as expected. But hey, you can't go wrong with bacon, and thank goodness there's some crunch to it. I wasn't expecting there to be any with ooey-gooey pizza cheese one would expect. Wait, there wasn't any. Darn.

Kaila White, reporter

Sampled: sweet BBQ bacon; spicy jalapeno-pineapple.

At first, the smell of these greasy meats floating through the office made me gag thanks to a strong post-Coachella illness, but then I became jealous of the shared experience and wanted in. Pineapple jalapeno is slimy sweet and then burns the mouth, and bacon-whatever tastes like bacon. They're glorified chicken nuggets. Boom.

Domino's fried-chicken pizza does look a little like dog food, but I knew it wasn't so I sampled all four flavors, none of which had "kibbles" in the title. In terms of taste, the jalapeno and pineapple chicken was, by far, the least appealing, both in theory and in practice, the flavors refusing to blend. In terms of presentation, the sweet BBQ may be the flavor best enjoyed in total darkness, allowing diners to savor the tangy taste of breaded chicken in BBQ sauce without wondering whether it was "gently used." All four flavors were heavily breaded, which is either good news or bad news, depending on your taste in fast-food chicken. I'd say too much breading, but I tasted it at lunchtime, which is probably unfair when this is clearly late-night "Why do I forget to eat before I binge-drink?" food, in which case maybe too much breading is the best idea ever.

Reach the reporter at barbara.vandenburgh@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8371.